Cutting Crescendos
by couldbecrazy
Summary: "I could only think: this could be it. This could be my way out." Ichigo sends a handful of tapes to one of the top producers in the country. They make their way to Grimmjow, and he puts Ichigo in the upcoming music festival. What will happen when Ichigo looses his passion? Might Grimm be able to bring it back? AU, language. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

So maybe I was crazy, maybe I was imagining the whole thing. But the excruciating minute, during which I held that envelope, I could only think: _This could be it. This could be my out. _ It wasn't a particularly fancy envelope, there was no return address and in bold script it simply stated "Kurosaki Ichigo". That, and there was a big, fat, blue was seal on the backside. This was the key to my future. After I got over the initial shock, I carefully popped the seal and looked at the two things that fateful parcel held. I simple piece of paper and what looked like some sort of credit card. The letter definitely came first. As I scanned the letter only a few words registered.

"_..honor you in your successes..." _

"…_proudly present…" _

"_..upcoming music festival…"_

There was a date too, June 17th. The date of my supposed debut as a public artist. All I had known was the stuffy clinic where I helped out with my dad and my apartment a little outside of town filled to the brim with things I loved. This was big; I never wanted to become a doctor. I had never wanted to follow my dad's footsteps and take over the clinic. I wanted to create, I wanted to feel what I created, and I wanted people to feel it with me. Music was what I lived for, not blood, gauze and sickness. Never the suffocating chemical smell of the building I so often frequented. My soul wanted to revolve around the thousands of dollars of equipment that was stacked in my guest bedroom. Not that you could call it that really, I slept there more often than I did in my official one.

Maybe it was because I was introverted or whatever you call it, but I never got out much, and I never told anybody but my closest friends about my secret obsession. I never put my tapes in the industry; I made them by myself and played them by myself. Well, me and two other people; Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai. They always wanted to come over and listen to whatever new track I had just finished. They get to know first about my exciting news, and of course listen to the tracks I had sent up to the recording agency. After I examined the other object, a type of key card supposedly to get into the building downtown, I whipped out my phone and sent a quick message to both of them.

_Got news, you busy tonight?_

Renji got back first, Rukia's reply coming in just seconds later. After deciding a time to meet at my apartment I set the envelope on the coffee table then turned on my stereo to whatever the thing felt like playing. It never listened to the buttons I pressed anyway. Renji had even gone so far as to name it, the stubborn thing was dubbed Kon. As Kon pounded out some track, I thought it was a remix of some sorts; I set myself up to get some work done.

Online computer programming was fun, but it could be a bitch sometimes. Hunkering down on my computer I had sorted out some kinks in the website, and managed the steady flow of customers that needed their software mended before the front door opened.

Both of my best friends walked in at the same time, Rukia at a sprinting pace while Renji just strolled in, cocky as ever.

"Ohmygodyou'regoingtotellmethatnewsorI'llliveinyourclosetuntilIfigu reitout." Rukia said in a rush, jumping on the couch to my left.

"You better tell me too, faggot, or I'll rip all your precious orange hair out, one strand at a time." Renji walked right up to Kon, ear turned for a second before his fingers worked at the volume control. I moved my laptop to a place where it wouldn't be ambushed my Rukia's small feet and sighed.

"Well, first things first, I need to get everything set up." I stood and stretched, my back and shoulders cracking in multiple places. Renji got comfy in my spot, while I strolled into the guest bedroom and fiddled with some of the equipment stored there. This big machine was the only thing Kon would listen too, but it took so much time to get him to respond; I usually didn't bother unless Renji and Rukia were over. My whole system was connected, and while my landlord had screamed at me for tearing most of the ceiling out and still hated me with a passion, it was totally worth it. Any room in the house I could play whatever I wanted, or at least, whatever Kon felt like playing. Stupid stubborn stereo.

When I had finally gotten the thing to play the tape that I had sent in, I went back into the living room to see both Rukia and Renji leaning over the letter acting like it was radioactive or something, staring at it but not touching it. Setting myself down next to Renji, I startled both of them with my presence causing them to move back to their original positions.

Rukia spoke first, "Ca- can I touch it?" she stuttered softly. I laughed.

"Oh course you can touch it, dummy. It's just a letter. No stealing the key card though, I need that for tomorrow."

"You have a meeting _tomorrow?_" Renji asked, starting to ramble about how my life was exciting and perfect and just how absolutely _jealous_ he was. I wish. He was actually just talking about the soccer match he had that weekend. How that one goal was just so spectacular, and how I just had to make the next game. I gave the same excuse I usually did: I was busy. My personal work took a lot of time, plus the extra hours at the clinic and now my meeting tomorrow, I was really busy. Really, I needed to take a day off, and tomorrow was the perfect day to do just that.

"Go ahead and read it. It doesn't have a disease, Rukia, it won't kill you." Rukia immediately snatched it up and started adamantly reading the thing while a grabbed my computer to quickly send a notice to Ilforte and anybody who went on the site tomorrow. That being done, they asked me a crap load of questions, and I tried to answer as quickly as I could.

We took a dinner break, and slid into our usual routine of naming tracks and sampling stuff to our hearts desires. Both of them were staying over, and both of them were going to sleep on the pull out couch. Together. I snickered at their arrangements for the evening, but at the glare they both sent me I stopped and went to bed, warning them that if they woke me up anytime that night, I'd kick them out butt-naked or not.

I had to say, the building was huge. Macho. The start white sides seemed to slip up into the gray sky like some sort of snake, or a cat, if cats did that sort of thing. This morning I had kicked the pair out of the house so I could get ready and call Isshin to tell him that he wouldn't be coming in today. Showering and dressing in black slacks and a white dress shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, I grabbed my keys, a couple of my favorite tracks, wallet, letter, keycard, and jacket I headed out to the meeting.

Walking inside revolving doors, I stared at the interior of the lobby before walking up to the elevator and pressing the up button.

As I waited another man came up to wait beside me. He was super tall and lanky, tricked out to the max with everything that screamed '_badass'_. I stared at all seven feet of him, clad in black skinny jeans riding low on thin hips five chains looping down and disappearing into his back pocket. His shoulders were covered by a white jacket sporting some band that I've never heard of on the back, and a little blue flaming skull on the front. It was half unzipped which showed a simple gray v-neck underneath. The large hood of his sweatshirt was pulled up half way and long black hair tumbled down over his shoulders. He had an eyepatch that had the same design as the sweatshirt, two piercings in his ear, and black low top converse covering his feet.

When the elevator doors opened up we both walked in, the man pressing for floor 5, while I tried to make the 60 light up. I scowled when it didn't work.

"Ya need a card to go up an' see Blue. The man has freaky security." I looked at the giant and mumbled "oh, forgot about that…" while I got my card out and slipped it in the slot, then sighed when the 60 finally lit up.

"It's Nnoitra, if you were wondering." He stated, and I looked at him with surprise. I hadn't expected him to give a name.

"Uh…Ichigo Kurosaki, nice to meet you…?" I held out my hand for him to shake and stuck my other one in my pocket.

"Nice to meet ya too, Berry." He winked at me and took my hand. No matter how thin his body looked, damn he had a strong grip. I just tried not to wince and nodded my head before the doors chimed, slipped open again and he stepped out.

The rest of the elevator I rode in silence, the occasional person stepping in and out but never said anything. A couple raised eyebrows when they saw what floor was lit up, but I just ignored them.

When I finally got to the 60th floor, which was a long way up so it did take some time in that impossibly slow elevator, I stepped out to be greeted by an energetic secretary.

"Oh! You must be Kurosaki! Come, come! I'll show you to Mr. Jeagerjaques office in just a moment. You can sit right over there." She continued to direct me over to a couple small couches where I sat down. "Would you like some tea? Or coffee?"

I shook my head, "Water is fine, thank you." She just giggled and skipped out of the room. She was very…eccentric. It made me nervous. From her sea foam green hair all the way down to the black heels she was wearing, she gave off the impression of being very nice, but I could never handle someone with too much energy. I could barely handle my own friends. When she came back she sat opposite to me, handing me a glass of water before taking a sip of her own coffee.

"So, Mr. Kurosaki, my name's Neliel, but you can just call me Nel, like everyone else does. Have you met anyone else yet?" Nel asked, cocking her head to the side. I could tell that she was a big talker so I graced her with a quiet voice of my own.

"Uh, there was a guy named Nnoitra in the elevator…" I looked away, not being able to hold those big grey eyes for very long.

"Nnoi? Oh, don't be intimidated by him. He's tall, but he can be kind of friendly, sometimes." She frowned and continued, "Don't call him Spoon-head, unless you're looking for a fight, though." I just nodded, although I was so nervous my palms were sweating and I was itching to do something physical. A fight sounded good right about now. We sontinued talking for a couple more minutes, me getting gradually more comfortable as time passed, before she started to talk into the earpiece she was wearing.

"He's done with his other meeting, we can go in now." She said to me, standing up and taking my cup. I nodded and stood up too, rubbing my hands on my pants. Leading me into the big office, Nel sent me a smile that said "Good luck."

"Ichigo Kurosaki. Or should I just call you King?" A smooth deep voice said as the door clicked shut. I whipped my head around to see a man leaning back in his big black chair with his ankles crossed up on the black desk. My eyes traveled from the tips of his designer shoes, and then to the wacky robot socks he was wearing. The white slacks with a black belt hugged the man's legs in all the right places, all the way up to the top where a dark purple button up was neatly tucked in. Right in the middle though, there was a big, fluffy, white cat sleeping away on his lap. My eyes continued up to where the top buttons of his shirt were undone and a small silver chain hung around his thick neck. A square jaw, straight nose and then the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. I couldn't quite tell if they were contacts or not. The sheer blueness of them had me seriously considering. One of his eyebrows was raised with a questioning look, but all I could do was open and close my mouth like a fish.

Stuttering stupidly, this is what fell out of my mouth: "Your hair is blue."

And it was. It wasn't weirdly black-bluish, it was hardcore _sky blue._

He snorted and said, "Like you're one to talk. Yours is orange." My hand immediately went straight to said locks of said color and I think I mumbled something like, "Yeah…I guess it is." He laughed again, but this time I was a little more aware.

"What are you laughing at? I've just never seen blue hair before." I scowled and crossed my arm. "It's just Ichigo, by the way." I sat myself down in one of the chairs on the opposite side of his desk.

He laughed again, and it was really starting to piss me off. He had no right. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. Did you bring samples of your work?"

I nodded and pulled out the handful of tapes to give to Grimmjow. He took them gratefully and moved his feet off the desk. The cat on his lap protested, digging its claws into his thigh while it stretched. After it bounded off, Grimmjow bent over and fiddled with something under the huge desk. I took the time to admire the exquisite back muscles that beautifully ran down his back. _Wait, beautiful? _I shook my head. He was my future boss. I couldn't…be _attracted_ to him. Could I? That would be gross. I shook my head and scowled again.

The soft start to one of the songs started to play softly through invisible speakers, and I nodded to the smooth beat.

"So, Ichigo," He started, coming back up and leaning against his elbows on the desk. "I have to say, you're a very talented young man. You have a lot of…well let's just say that you have a wonderful ear." He nodded to himself, and then decided to busy himself with finding some papers in one of the many stacks of his desks.

"Ummm, thank you. I haven't really gotten much criticism on my taste…so, thanks."

Seeming to find the proper sheets he was searching for, his head popped up looking interested. "Really now? How many people listen to your music?"

I couldn't hold eye contact. I looked outside of a window, "Not many, I guess it would me two. Not including me."

"Two what. Hundred? Thousand?"

My eyes flicked back to the desk in front of me, but not the person there. "People. Two people."

"Yeah, I got that. So two hundred?" He scribbled something down, and glanced back up at me. I could feel his gaze, so I met it again.

"No, just two."

He looked confused, but I guess I could understand. Coming to a big producing company after only two people have listened to your stuff…that's not a lot, and it's a big step for a single person.

"Two…individuals. Just two." He cocked his head, focusing on the music flowing through the speakers. Then nodded his head again. For the first time in that meeting, he gave me a big predatory grin, like he was in on the funniest joke ever and I wasn't. "Well that certainly changes things. We will have to discuss what steps to take before the festival then. Personally, I think we should put out a sample to get more of a fan base…"

We continued discussing details, like salary, release dates. He asked me questions about Renji and Rukia, I answered as truthfully as I could. I wouldn't give him their contacts, so instead he gave me his to give to them. The conversation wasn't about strictly business. He asked about my family and what I did before music. I told him about Yuzu and Karin, about how my dad was asylum-worthy crazy. He laughed at that, and then offered some more information about his company. It was his, and I felt honored for heading straight to the top. It seemed the longer the meeting went on, the more comfortable I felt around him. Just like I had with his secretary, Nel. Maybe it was the crazy hair, but the feeling that I got from this workspace was really laid back. It was appealing.

I left the building feeling happier than I had felt in a while. There was a bounce to my step and I wasn't scowling. Not like I was smiling, but my face was happily relaxed.

I walked up to my apartment building and saw that the door to mine was cracked open. Huh, I remembered locking it…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2~

As soon as the elevator doors slid closed, Nel rushed into Grimmjow's office. She found her cousin sitting in his chair facing the window, deep in thought while absent-mindedly stroking Pantera. She hopped up next to him and examined his face with lively curiosity.

"Did he bring anymore of his tapes in?" She could tell that there wasn't any music in the player under his desk, but she was determined to listen to more samples of the music genius' work.

He grumbled, "Yeah, third drawer on the right." She smiled and skipped up to two black file cabinets, opening one of the drawers and fishing through the boxes until she came up to the one labeled, "King". Going back to the desk she popped her selected track in and pressed play.

Soft noise started, and not long after a deep male voice slipped through the melodies. Nel frowned, "This isn't like the stuff he sent in, this is like…different."

"Yeah he said something about this one, it was one his first recordings. All done in his apartment. Pretty amazing quality for it to be done in-house."

All the stuff Ichigo had sent in was hardcore dubstep, but Nel thought it was nice for a techno head to have a soft side too. More originality seemed to come out of those types.

Grimmjow watched a head of orange weave its way through the crowds on the sidewalk, 60 floors down. He couldn't seem to look away from it. As soon as it disappeared from his view, he listened to the voice coming through the speakers. It was an incredibly nice voice, it seemed to relax him the more he listened to it. The kid was good, almost too good. He frowned; he couldn't have had help, could he? From his friends, what were their names? Ruji and…Renkia? Whatever. He would have to watch Ichigo while he made one, just to make sure. Also there was no way he did that in his apartment. Unless he had a professional setup. It wasn't likely considering what a big secret it was. It was sure to be a huge hit; they had talked about a sample release, or a single of some sort, before the festival. It was only two months away, and Grimmjow was a little worried about the number of tracks the kid needed to make in order to fill the spots at the event. He would also have to talk to Nel about the lineup.

Speaking of Nel, she was swaying around the room with her eyes closed, twirling every couple of seconds. He could trust her, she had an incredible ear. He sighed and closed his sea blue eyes, big brown ones dancing on the back of his lids.

XXX

The door should have been the first sign; I should have paid more attention to it. The lamp should have been the second. It was on, and I always, _always_ turned all of them off. I was so exhausted that it wasn't until I had sat myself down and stared straight at it, the big blank space where Kon used to be.

It was gone.

_Wait, what?_ I'm pretty sure the thing was there when I left for the meeting. Someone must have…_shit_.

I whipped out my phone and hovered my thumbs over the keyboard, trying to figure out what to do. Text Renji first, we'll figure this out.

_Well damn. Ren, I'm gonna need you to come over ASAP._

A reply was quick to come, probably because it was just a single letter; k. I sat on my couch, after I had sent the same message to Rukia, and tried to collect my thoughts.

When the two arrived together, Renji was fuming. I could almost see the smoke drifting out of his ears. No doubt I had interrupted the two in their sexual adventures, but I think that this might have been a little more important. Rukia looked a little flustered, from the sex or from trying to calm Renji down I don't know, and she hurriedly sat down to my left.

"So, you call us over here for a reason, or are you just getting lonely?" Renji spat, beginning to go through his usual routine of kicking off his shoes then going over to turn up the music. Only the music player was missing, so he ran straight into the wall. "Fucking hell! What the hell is this?"

Rukia snapped her head to where Renji was, and I swear her eyes almost popped out of her skull. "Umm…Ichigo? Kon's missing."

I solemnly nodded my head once and mumbled a barely audible, "yeah" before resting my head on the back of the couch, effectively averting my eyes up to the ceiling. I could feel both of their gazes on me, but I just closed my eyes and tried to block everything out.

"Ichigo, are you okay?"

"I don't know," I replied honestly. I could feel the pit of anger growing in my chest, but I didn't want to be angry. I wanted to be rocking out to whatever new track I had finished with my two best friends. This shouldn't be happening. Things had just gotten good too, I had a record deal and I was going to be playing in a couple months at the biggest summer music festival in the area. On June 17th, but I tried not to dwell on that fact right now. Right now I needed to focus on the theft that had happened just moments ago.

"Rukia, get me my pad of paper, it should be on the file cabinets in my studio." I asked. I heard footsteps retreating down the hall, and then what seemed to be a stifled scream. Renji stopped pounding the rug into oblivion from his footsteps and looked down the hall. I had opened my eyes, and again stared at the blank white ceiling.

"ICHIGO," Rukia came running back into the living room, and tugged on my arm, "Ichigo, come. You have to see this."

I grunted as she tugged on my arm, "What for?"

She sighed, "Come _on_. You're such a stubborn brat sometimes, you know that?" I nodded my head slowly and she sighed in frustration again. "_Ichigo,_ it's your stuff, all your equipment, it's…you should come see for yourself."

Well shit. I assumed she was talking about it getting stolen along with Kon, but when I looked into the small space, I could see I was totally wrong.

You know that feeling when you're so mad, you just want to sit down and cry? Well, that's where I was in that moment, looking at all the little smashed up pieces that were once worth thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars. Now all the worth of what I could see was maybe $50 at the scrap yard. I opened my mouth to start a string of colorful curses that I had collected over the years, but my breath caught in my throat and I stood there gaping like a fish out of water.

The rest of the night was tense, Renji called the police to report the breaking-and-entering only to find that they couldn't come and investigate until tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, all my anger had melted into a depression that settled over me like a cold, wet blanket. I locked the door to the spare bedroom, and laid down on my own mattress in the other.

I felt the need to break down in tears, but instead decided on making a list. My notepad was still in the other room, so I settled on a mental one for now.

Lists had always helped in my life, especially when things had gotten hectic. I don't make them often, but when I do it settles my brain and its need to make impulsive decisions. My list started out with the phone calls that needed to be made. I could start there, but I could wait until morning. I could tell my family and my boss about the event tomorrow. That would also mean explaining my whole…situation with his father, and I was so not looking forward to that.

I could hear muffled talking in the other room, along with the couch being folded out. Feeling a little better about my situation with my friends' right there, I stripped and climbed under the covers ready for a night of peaceful slumber.

It didn't come, I kept tossing and turning until I finally gave up and left the bedroom. Renji and Rukia were tangled up together in the sheets, completely unconscious. I let a little smile grace my lips. I was so happy for them, even though I was starting to feel like the third wheel in the situation. Then again, I was never the star of anything that was always Renji. Him being a soccer wizard and whatnot, there was simply no room for me in that position. I made my way over to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water along with a small snack consisting of an apple. I also grabbed my work computer from the coffee table that had been pushed out of the way. I was glad they didn't have the mind to take that while I was out, because then me and Ilforte would have to re-build our business from the ground up.

I took everything back to my room, and set myself up for a long night of insomnia-induced work.

Five long hours later, my eyelids finally started to droop downwards. I shut off my laptop and moved it aside so I could finally get some rest.

I woke up late the next morning, or should I say afternoon, to the sound of Rukia knocking softly on my open door. I grunted, and she walked in and I could feel the bed dip slightly with the weight of her small frame.

"Ichigo, you've been asleep for a while. I think it's about time that you wake up."

I groaned and asked with a sleepy voice, "What time is it?"

"It's almost one. Time to get up, sleepyhead."

"…whaaaa?" I must have stayed up later than I realized. I needed to…oh yeah, my stuff.

"The police are going to be here in 20 minutes, I think. You should probably take a shower and get ready."

I nodded and slowly lifted my torso off the bed and stretched out, feeling satisfied as I heard several joints pop back into place.

"Yeah I'll," my voice got cut off by the large yawn that tore from my lungs demanding air. She nodded in understanding and left me to my own devices. I was glad for the alone time, as now I had to face the tragedy that had happened. No more work to distract me from the sadness that had decided to reside inside me, I shuffled to the bathroom to take a quick shower before getting ready for the rest of the day.

It went by in a blur, and I put off my phone calls as long as possible. We had gotten kicked out after our interviews so they could do their work, and we ended up just strolling about one of the parks near the complex.

"You think they'll find him?" Renji asked, wrapping his arm around Rukia's waist.

I simply shrugged, and continued walking. I had more important things on my mind. Like how someone could have gotten in my apartment? The only people who had keys were me and Isshin. I could ask him later…when I called him. I gave a mental groan on displeasure and sat down on the first park bench we passed.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asked, "Are you okay Ichi?" I gave her a small nod of my head, hating the fact that I was lying to her. I was not okay. It seemed like the more I thought about anything, the bigger the pit on my stomach grew.

"Yeah, Ichigo, you're not looking so hot." Renji stated. They both stood in front of me like an old worried couple. I chuckled at the thought and I guess he took it as me laughing at his statement because he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "We're gonna go get some ice cream, you wanna come?" I shook my head again.

"Hey, you sure you're okay?" Rukia said as she squatted to meet me at eye level, or as close as she could get.

"Yeah guys, I'm fine. Just go and get your sugar." They both wandered off at that, Rukia throwing me worried looks over her shoulder for a ways.

Now I was completely alone. There wasn't anyone in the park because it was a Tuesday, and I had no intentions of finding company. I closed my eyes and held my head in my hands. The pit grew, and I was bombarded with snapshots of me and my friends.

There was the time when I had just gotten the stereo, and my two best friends had helped me move it in. Renji and I did most of the moving though. There was the time when we all had a little too much to drink and Kon had gotten its name. That was also the same night Renji has kissed Rukia. There was the weekend that I ripped up my apartment to get the wiring done for the new speakers, I could still picture my landlords face perfectly. It's not a face you could easily forget. I couldn't count how many times Renji had cussed out the stereo, but all of those moments flashed for my viewing too.

Then there were ones of just me and my studio. Me and my music. Me and my life. I had so many tracks there were two file cabinets bursting with them in my bedroom. I remember back when I was still going to the university and I was still trying to get the studio set up. I knew a few things about the equipment and had a little trouble getting it all at a price I liked. But once I had, it was beautiful. It was always kept in supreme shape; there were countless things I could have achieved in that small space. An old desk had turned into what could be considered a wet dream for some people. There was always something whirring or spinning or blinking. It was a 24/7 project and I loved every minute of it.

Music was always my stress reliever; I could make music anytime of the day, any day of the week. If it were still in working condition, I could have used it right about now. I needed the release, the calm that I felt when I made something beautiful out of nothing. I knew it was the dirt that I needed to fill the growing hole of sorrow inside me. I needed my machines like an addict needed his pills.

Trying to bring myself out of my thought induced stupor; I decided to slowly make my way back to my apartment. I hadn't realized how dark it had gotten; I must have been sitting on that bench for hours. According to my phone it was nearing 8:30, and I quickened my pace towards home.

Not that I wanted to be there, the crushed equipment only dug the hole deeper with each thought I had. Maybe I could crash at Renji's, or not considering he probably already has one house guest. Maybe I could stay at Goat Face's establishment. I'll ask him when I call later. That has to get done too; my night is going to be hell just talking to the old man.

Reaching my apartment, I walked in on a police officer who was waiting for me. We said both hellos and goodbyes, and a promise to keep in touch with updates on the investigation. After the door shut behind him I dialed the home number, hoping Karin or Yuzu would pick up instead of my dad.

I was not so fortunate because a distinctly male voice came over the phone, "Ichigo? What are doing calling this late? Did you want to say goodnight to the girls?"

I decided to start with the easy stuff and asked, "Hey can I crash at home for a little while?"

"Why would you want to do that? Do you miss your daddy?"

I cut him off before he could start the childish act, "No, uhh…something happened over here and I don't want to say at the apartment. I'm not sure it's safe."

"My boy! Do tell your father what happened!"

"…there was a break-in, my stereo got stolen and some of my stuff was smashed up…"

The comment seemed to silence him out of the act-like-a-child-when-there's-children facade. "Ichigo? What happened? What got destroyed?"

"I had a meeting, and when I came home everything was just…well they only took my stereo but all my…equipment looked like it was taken to with a chainsaw."

"Ichigo, of course you can stay here. If you ever need anything, your family has your back."

I gave a little smile even though he couldn't see it, "yeah, thanks, Dad. I'll be over in a little bit."

We hung up and I was glad I avoided that disaster, for now. There was almost enough guilt to add to my quickly deepening hole, and there was definetly enough nervousness to have the shovel ready.

I quickly packed a bag for a couple days and started the long walk over there.

Halfway through, my dad's car pulled up beside me so I stopped and gave the man in the driver's seat a questioning look.

"Come on boy, I'm not letting you walk." I nodded and opened the door, setting my stuff in the back seat.

The first two minutes of the car ride were silent. I could feel the tension of an unasked question between us, but I guess he didn't feel like asking. Or at least, I thought he wasn't gonna ask.

"So the stuff that got smashed, was it stuff for your work?"

I contemplated the question, trying to figure out the answer myself. _Was_ it for work? I guess you could consider it work. For some people it would be. I guess if I get paid, its work, right? I'm definetly getting paid for my music. When me and Grimmjow had talked numbers the other day, they were big numbers. So I guess it was work.

"Yeah. It was for work."

"Was it programs? What exactly get smashed?"

I took a deep breath and tried to remember all the things that used to be worth so much. It pained me to say through gritted teeth, "It was other work. I had all my equipment in that room. All of it got destroyed." I couldn't help but feel like destroyed was a fitting word, "Obliterated." That sounded better.

"I get that, but were there specific things that got…obliterated?" I couldn't see my dad's face; I was sitting straight up and staring at the road ahead. I didn't catch the confused trace of emotion that flashed across his face, nor could I see the worry that he held for me. I couldn't see that he noticed the sadness, the emptiness that I had adopted that night.

"Yeah I can make a list of it all when we get home." I had disregarded my apartment as 'home' the minute I stepped in two nights ago. Home was where I could feel safe, and for now it was the Clinic. Maybe it wouldn't be for long, but for at least a couple nights it could.

My dad backed off after that, his curiosity satisfied for the moment. We rode in silence for the rest of the way, and I mentally thanked my dad for the ride because when we got out of the warm haven that was the car, it was freezing. When I got my bag out of the backseat I could feel the cold nipping at my legs while my arms were wrapped in the welcome heat.

"Ichi-nii!" I heard Yuzu call, her voice still just as innocent as last time I had visited. I gave her a quick hug on my way upstairs, greeting Karin when I passed her in the living room wrapped up in a cup of hot cocoa and her favorite anime.

Too tired to shower, I climbed up the stairs and laid down on the narrow bed, thinking about what I had lost.

_Things had just gotten good too._ I had two jobs that I loved, I had two best friends who supported me, and I had my apartment broken into and my favorite things in the whole world either stolen or smashed. That last one just didn't fit in with the rest of them. _Why did this have to happen to me?_

The only noise for the next three hours was the soft ticking of the clock. It was a depressing reminder that time would not stop for me, and that it would keep going on, and people would continue as they usually would, and that I was just that much more insignificant in the whole scheme of things.

My phone rang then, breaking the quiet of the old bedroom.

Picking it up, I checked the display then greeted my boss solemnly "Hey Grimmjow, I…uh...have some news…"

**A/N: HI! Nice to meet you all:) I would hope you guys have time to review because this is my first fan fiction and I want some feedback other than my Beta's. Please, tell me how you like it? **  
**~CBC**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for thee long wait, but it's here!

Chapter 3~

I listened to the laughter on the other side of the line. That was unexpected, I told him all of my stuff got smashed, and he laughed. The deep chuckling threw me off completely, and my mind was a little blank for a moment.

"You're laughing," way to state the obvious, idiot. I shook my head clearing it of all embarrassing thoughts.

He obviously thought the same because he just laughed harder. "Yeah, yeah. Ichigo, do me a favor and come into the office tomorrow and we can talk about what this means in terms of business. It's 11 o'clock and all I want to do right now is sleep."

I nodded, and then realized that he couldn't see me after a few seconds of silence. I mumbled an affirmative response he could hear then hung up. Not that it was necessary, because a couple minutes later I realized he had hung up on me. Jackass.

* * *

Phone: check. Wallet: check. Keys: check. Undeniable pit of despair sitting in my gut? Double check, with an extra shovel. Leaving the house after I picked at the breakfast Yuzu prepared, I made my way down to the center of the city to meet my fate with the laughing blue-haired boss. Nothing better than a good dose of embarrassment to cheer me up this fine, Tuesday morning. For a moment I considered stopping at a coffee shop to get a drink, but I figured Nel would have something for me when I got there. No point in delaying the inevitable, I guess.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. These elevator cabs were glass, and I could see everybody on each level doing something that I couldn't. Making music, producing something that touched people's souls, choreographing the collection of notes that can dance in the air if you know how to do it right.

Grimmjow didn't seem like a stupid person, he probably knew who to contract with to make the best money, to have the best artists.

There's a lot of thinking that goes on in elevators, approaching your ultimate shame from where you can't see it until you're right in front of it. It's quite intimidating. It made me wonder what I was doing there, going upstairs to the boss and making excuses for my foolishness that got me into this mess in the first place.

Could I have locked the doors? Yes.

Could I have given my phone number to one of the neighbors in case on an emergency? Of course.

I could have done something to prevent it but I didn't, so now I get to live with the consequences that I brought upon myself.

Around the 20th floor, a woman walked on with the biggest pink sunglasses I have ever seen. When she got in, she immediately took them off and pinned me to the wall with her blue violet eyes.

"Honey, what has got you thinking so hard in here?" She pressed the button for floor 42 and put her other hand on her hip, obviously waiting for an answer.

There was something about confiding to a stranger in an elevator. They don't know you; they don't know your life story, or worse: they don't know just a part of it and judge you for it. You probably won't see them again, especially with a building this big.

"I've got a meeting with my boss who humiliated me last night, so we can talk about how much money I lost in the span of our last meeting. Which was two days ago. There's a receptionist who will probably sit me down so she can give me the third degree on what happened, but she'll probably give me coffee. Then we get to work out the details on how I get to live my life from this point onwards doing something that I'm not sure I want to do anymore." That last part just slipped out, but when it did I realized how true it was. There was no telling what was going to happen, and whatever we did work out, there was no guarantee that I was going to fulfill my part.

She turned to face the doors and I noticed that her hair was not completely silver. There were streaks of wild color wrapped up in the tight bun she wore. She looked like a true business woman, ready to take on the world.

"Well, hun, I can only tell you that everybody has what they do in life and if you can't do that thing you might as well just try to do something else." She said in that slightly too southern drawl of hers. The elevator dinged and her purple pumps clicked with ever step she took away from me.

The doors closed once again and I was left to think about what she said. Of course, it wasn't very pretty advice, but things hadn't been very pretty since two days ago.

* * *

"Ichigo! You've arrived early! In fact, I just got the message that you were coming. Grimmjow isn't here yet but we do have coffee!" Her hair swayed as she walked towards the couches.

"Umm, actually I think I just need to drop something off. Just in case you guys want to know. I have the list right here; it's everything that was lost." I took a deep breath and tried to keep my aura professional.

"Oh, I thought you were going to talk to Grimmy! I had the appointment set up and everything. Well, at least he gets some free time."

"Yeah, well I also wanted to let you know that I…I probably won't be coming back anytime soon. In fact, I can give back the advance-"

She ran up to me. "Oh. Oh, no. No no no no no no no. Please Ichigo, I apologize on behalf of whatever Grimmjow or anyone did to offend you. But believe me, we want you here. You'll fit in perfectly with this big, mess of a company just perfectly. You have an ear that surpasses every other artist in this building combines. Trust me when I say that you have an amazing voice as well. If there's one thing that Grimmjow needs it's _you."_ I looked in her big, grey eyes and only saw the sincerity of which she spoke. Something was bothering me though. My voice? I don't sing. There was no way that I gave one of those tracks to them. I never even recorded my voice. Not once.

"I'm sorry…Can I see the tapes that you received?"

"NO! You can't leave…wait what?"

I rocked back on my heels so I could stare at the ceiling. "I need to see what tapes you got. There must have been some kind of confusion. I don't sing."

"But…one of the tracks you sent in had lyrics and I thought it sounded like you. Well, come on." She strode into Grimmjow's office while I trailed behind her. She rummaged around under his desk for a little bit before taking out one of the tapes. "I think this is the one that had the singing on it. Here, I'll play it, and if it's not yours…well then we'll have to clear some things up."

She went back down and I waited patiently for the voice that I was positive I would hear. Surely enough soft notes drifted through the hidden speakers.

_I'm gonna pick up the pieces,  
and build a Lego house  
If things go wrong we can knock it down_

_My three words have two meanings,_  
_There's one thing on my mind_  
_It's all for you_

I remember when he recorded this, feeling particularly soft and switching up his styles. There were three of us in our room, him singing into the microphone, his friend who I don't remember on the computer, and me doing my 8-year-old homework. I kept asking them stupid 3rd grade math problems. Things like, 'If Sammy has 8 apples and George eats 5, how many apples does Sammy have left?' I guess they edited those parts out, because I couldn't hear a single peep of my little voice.

_And it's dark in a cold December, but I've got you to keep me warm  
If you're broken I will mend you and I'll keep you sheltered from the storm that's raging on now  
_

_I'm out of touch, I'm out of love  
I'll pick you up when you're getting down  
And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now  
I'm out of sight, I'm out of mind  
I'll do it all for you in time  
And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now  
_

I remember that friend having blue eyes. Or maybe it was a shirt. Or shoes. There was always something blue on him, but that's the only thing I remember.

_I'm gonna paint you by numbers  
And colour you in  
If things go right we can frame it and put you on a wall  
And it's so hard to say it but I've been here before  
Now I'll surrender up my heart  
And swap it for yours_

I do believe that he had his eyes closed during the recording, probably trying to block my interrupting voice out. Always one to be a little on the foolish side, he always had the uttermost concentration when he was singing. Even when he was making a mix tape or something else music-related, he was always goofing off. Not while he was recording though. It was one of the things I liked most about him.

_I'm out of touch; I'm out of love  
I'll pick you up when you're getting down_

_And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now  
I'm out of sight, I'm out of mind  
I'll do it all for you in time  
And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now  
_

I think I remember his blue friend laughing at him when he told him what song he would be recording. Loud and full, not wasting a single moment. It was the laugh you wanted to be around, it made you want to be alive.

_Don't hold me down  
I think my braces are breaking, and it's more than I can take_

And it's dark in a cold December, but I've got you to keep me warm  
If you're broken I will mend you and I'll keep you sheltered from the storm that's raging on now

I think then our mother had come in, being the lovely lady she was, she silently help up a sign that read, _'Dinner is ready, be down once you've finished.'_ Always respecting them, always making sure that they got their bellies filled to the brim.

_I'm out of touch, I'm out of love  
I'll pick you up when you're getting down  
And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now  
I'm out of sight, I'm out of mind  
I'll do it all for you in time  
And out of all these things I've done I think I love you better now  
_

Of course, be the time the song was over, they wanted to edit and put music to it. They asked me to bring up their plates to them once I had finished with mine. Then he added that if I wanted to sit and eat with them while they worked, that would be cool too. I accepted; I loved spending every minute of my time with my brother.

_I'm out of touch; I'm out of love  
I'll pick you up when you're getting down_

My father had gotten angry at me, saying that I wasn't spending enough time with my sisters. That I needed to be the other man of the house since my brother obviously wasn't up for it. I just picked up our plates and walked away silently with my head bowed.

_And out of all these things I've done I will love you better now_

"_Keep this up, and your mother will die with the lack of testosterone in this family. Man up, my son."_

* * *

I brought the tape home with me. Nel said that I didn't have to talk to Grimmjow today, that I could think about my decision. I think that I needed to do something else first. The bottom drawer of my file cabinet is always locked. The only key was tucked away in the back of my kitchen cabinet. Retrieving it involved going back home.

The lock had been changed, and I stuck the new, shiny key into the keyhole. New and never used, it opened the door without a problem, the lock clicked softly. I walked in, and everything was how I left it. I suppose that I should gather my stuff at my dad's and haul it back here. But a few more days of relative peace couldn't do any harm.

The kitchen was the same too, not that I expected anything else. The little key was still in its spot, and I grabbed it, its weight feeling heavy in my palm. Like the door, the file cabinet opened just as easy. The contents consisted of a regular file folder with some regular-looking files. There were also roughly 20 tapes stacked neatly behind them. I pulled all of them out, ordering them in the numbers that they had written on them. After they were all laid out in order, I got out my old player, set myself up in my bed with my headphones, and pressed play.

* * *

Ichigo left, and then the other elevator doors open to reveal Grimmjow in a charcoal grey suit. Nel looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Grimmjow sighed, a sad Nel was hard to deal with, but at least it was better than a cranky one. "Hey, what's up?" Good. Go for the open ended question.

"Ichigo came in, he just left." She gave a little hiccup, and sat down at her desk, looking zoned out. "But we have other matters to discuss. Like whether he's coming back or not. And this." She shot out her arm that was holding the list that Ichigo had given her.

Grimmjow took it and skimmed over it, recognizing most of the models on the list. "Let's go talk in my office. Come on. And bring me some coffee, will you?" Yes, normalcy was best. Everything is normal.

He sat in his chair with his coffee while Nel perched on the armrest leaning over his shoulder. They read the list, and all the prices in the margin. The grand total was big, but with some of the brands that those calculating blue eyes were seeing, it was obvious that Ichigo knows someone who can get him a good deal. A really good deal.

"The background check is supposed to come in later this week." Nel pointed out, getting up and deciding to officially start the day, still a little misty eyed. "You have a meeting with some potential sponsors at ten, and a meeting with Shinji at two thirty and then a dinner with various big-wigs."

Mmmm, free dinner. "It's okay, I got it. Any other news? You wanna tell me about you little meeting with Ichigo?"

"Oh well he came in and said that he didn't have to meet with you and that he was just going to quit, but then I said that he shouldn't and that he was just so amazing and then we started taking off each other's clothes and we went to the couch and-"

Grimmjow snapped his gaze around back to Nel from where it had wandered to the windows. "Excuse me?"

She laughed softly, "I was wondering if you were paying attention. Well I commented of his singing voice but he was confused so I showed him that tape and he said it wasn't him. So he asked if he could take the tape then he left."

"Did he ever tell you who it was?" Grimmjow asked.

"No, he just said it was someone he used to know. He got out of here quick after we listened to it though. Like he needed to be somewhere ASAP."

They both heard the phone ring, and Nel rushed out to get it. When she poked her head back in she told her boss that the sponsors were here and waiting for him in one of the conference rooms. Grimmjow nodded and collected everything he would need for the work day ahead. Wondering who the mystery singer could be, and why did he recognize that voice?

The sone is Lego House by Ed Sheeran:) Review because you love me?


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